AI Generated Image
DESI releases biggest 2D map of the universe
Phys.org • • general
Key Points:
- The DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys team has released the largest-ever 2D color map of the universe, featuring 5.6 trillion pixels and nearly 4 billion celestial objects, available publicly via the Legacy Survey Sky Viewer.
- Covering about 75% of the sky in visible and near-infrared light, the map aids astronomers in studying phenomena such as gravitational lenses, supernovae, dark matter, and dark energy, and has already supported over 1,800 scientific papers.
- The map was created by combining 263,407 telescope exposures from three ground-based surveys and supplemented with data from NASA’s WISE satellite and other public sources, involving contributions from over 160 scientists.
- Originally designed to support the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey, the map helps select objects for DESI’s ongoing observations, which have provided early evidence that dark energy’s influence may be weakening over time.
- Processing the vast dataset required significant computational effort at the Perlmutter supercomputer, and the Legacy Surveys data will serve as a foundational reference for upcoming telescopes and AI-driven astronomical research initiatives.
